Router Recommendation (Australia)

If DeWalt is an option in Australia have a look at this beauty:

though it is an entire build in itself

This router business has been killing me today but finally read thought the Bosch Manual and now can clarify the fine adjustment on both the plunge router GOF1600 CE and the Fixed base Router GKF 1600 CE

  1. GOF 1600 CE plunge router has +/- 16 mm (32mm total travel) fine adjustment

  2. GKF 1600 CE fixed base router has total travel of 41mm in addition there are 3 notches for course height set with 12.7mm spacing between notches

I think the GKF 1600 CE Fixed base router would be the one to test as it gives a little more travel. I will need to verify this. Hopefully this will cost less as well.

I will come back to this thread when I have secured the test router.

Need to move onto the assembly now.

use the following web link to locate the manual if you want to read it

http://www.bosch-pt.com.au/au/en/router-gof-1600-ce-226567-0601624040.html

Regards Stuart

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how much of that 1" of adjustment do you need to get the bit to the top surface
of the workpiece.

If you are cutting 1/4" stock, you have a lot more leeway than if you are trying
to cut 3/4" stock.

David Lang

how do you move the plunge base down? normally the plunge mechanism has nothing
attached to it, itā€™s spring loaded to move away from the workpiece and relys on
the human arms to move it down.

Maslow requires something that can be motorized to raise/lower the bit.

Running into a limit where you need to run the adjustment back to the other
extreme and move the router down to the next latch position doesnā€™t work

David,
I am looking at using the fixed base but in terms of the plunge base you can set the desired height then lock it. Then the micro adjust coupled to a motor can be used as required.

In terms of the question regarding how much fine adjust is required to have the tool touch the workpiece the answer is I donā€™t know yet as have not tested the unit. Hence why I am trying to get a sample from my friend at Bosch.

Cheers Stuart

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Hey I did some more reading last night and found this 3rd party add-on for a bunch of routers. Looks like it may help the situation. Itā€™s called the Router Raizer and itā€™s primarily for when you want to use a plunge router in a table situation. But it gives the router plenty of controlled travel (well over 1inch) and the top knob is removable, perfect for placing the coupling on.

https://www.timbecon.com.au/routing/router-raizer-height-winder-kit

Supports the following routers:

Craftsman 27505, 27506, 27510, 27511
Dewalt 625, DW621
Elu 3337, 3338, 3339 
Freud FT2000, FT2000E
Hitachi M12V, TR12, M12VC (combination kit), M12V2
Makita 3612BR, 3612B, 3612C
Porter Cable 693, 6931 base, 7538, 7539, 7529, 8529
Ryobi RE-500, RE-600
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Hi Everyone!

Iā€™m based in New Zealand and Iā€™m in the same boat as you all. Iā€™m really struggling to find an adequate 220V router as they all seem to be plunge routers here.

I have found this one: https://www.audel.com.au/ken-3912b-router-1850w/ which is available in both NZ and AUS but Iā€™m just waiting to here back from the suppliers if it has a fixed base as well as fine height adjustment.

Plus itā€™s relatively cheap!

I will update you all if it turns out to be a worthy option!

Cheers,

Cal

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That is a standard plunge router, it doesnā€™t have any good way to have a motor
control the depth of the router. As such, itā€™s not a good option.

SoCalSnow,
Thanks for your post. There seems to be a real gap here for the 230-240 volt community so I share your pain as I am currently in the same boat. The last thing we want to see is Maslow CNC kits sitting on peopleā€™s shelves in AUS/NZ

The key issue I see (at least in my case) is that while the Maslow CNC can be used without a Z-Axis depending on what you want to create it is not very practical so we just have to work our way through it.

The issues that have been brought to our attention is depth of fine adjust (retract/plunge range with respect to the workpiece) and ease of coupling the Z-Axis to some variant of the fine adjust. The other issue is fixed or plunge base. I am not too worried about the plunge base so long as it supports the afterlock fine adjust feature and has a suitable fine adjust range.

The other thing that we donā€™t really know is the minimum power requirements of the router which is material / cut depth dependant so I have opted for the 1600 Watt unit as the USA based Ridgid unit is 2HP (1494.1Watt / 1.49kW)

I have committed to testing the Bosch GFK 1600 CE (A little pricy though) which I am sourcing through a contact I have locally at Bosch. He should be able to get back to me by Monday next week then I can provide an update on if and when I can get the test unit otherwise I will take the plunge (no pun intended) and purchase the unit anyway for test as I need to get to the next stage of actually cutting parts. I will opt for the fixed base for the test unit as the fine adjust had a little more range than the plunge base option.

What I think we need is an agreed list of Candidate Routers that are readily available in our region and a few testers to validate. Benji first bought my attention to the Bosch option and has since noted a few other units. Vertex has posted detail about an installation of the Dewalt Router [Not sure what model] that is an option.

I cannot remember who suggested that we should try call around suppliers for samples but this is a good start. If we could find out how Many Maslow CNC units have been shipped to each country this may add weight to getting the vendor on board [This is only something that Bar and Hannah could provide]

Actions

  1. List of Agreed Candidate Router in AUS/NZ that we should test
  2. List of Units under test
  3. Members who are based in AUS/NZ for starters

Any feedback as always is welcome.

Kind Regards Stuart

If itā€™s the same Boch I saw, they seem to have a Hex Shape on the internals of the handle. It may be possible to design a 3D printed hex to shaft interface not requiring removal of the handle. This could of course also be machined. Or if your from my camp a hunk of aluminum, a vise and a few different files and lots of elbow grease.

The approach of creating your own Z axis (i.e. router lift) will really open up
a lot of options for you. You can mount a plunge router motor to a lift and it
will work just fine.

What are people in your areas using for router tables?

Bee,
I looked at the exploded view of the Router Schematic and think that you may be referring to item 58 which is a Fine adjust extension shown below. Also the previous image shows that there is a screw to remove the knob to get access to the screw this is why I am looking it as a candidate as looks simple to couple the Z-Axis

BoschItem58|306x183

!

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From this link -
https://www.blackwoodsxpress.com.au/power-tools/electric-power-tools/planers-trimmers/router-gof1600ce-1600w-micro-adjustment.html?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIwYLXy7vv1wIVC4K9Ch04kgb9EAYYBCABEgKCrvD_BwE

I have included the zoomed view here.

Thank you

Not to scale -

Example - 8mm round shaft

29 PM

Iā€™d need measurements from the product to get it right.

:slight_smile:

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Bee,
Yes that is the one. The only thing to be careful of is that the GOF 1600 CE package comes with the motor and the plunge base with associated accessories and the plunge base micro adjustment has less travel than the fixed base (Ā± 16mm, 32mm).

To complicate things there is a GMF 1600 CE which is a combo package that comes with the motor the plunge base and the fixed base but this would be more expensive again.

I have asked suppliers to supply pricing on the GFK 1600 CE package which includes the Motor, the Fixed base and accessories. This will be the cheaper option and will allow for a higher fine adjust range (41mm) and has the extension piece for the micro adjust along with the accessories for dust collection etc.

Kind Regards Stuart

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Bee here is the link to the manual as it may be in there. I will try and have look as well

www.bosch-pt.com.au/au/en/router-gof-1600-ce-226567-0601624040.html

The dimensions may well be in there.

Stu

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@stuartri

Please keep me in the loop. Iā€™m in the US and following the thread. I intend to try to improve the wiki info and from here Iā€™m an observer. Iā€™ll gladly differ to you for the local information of what is best. I have herd that they sell the dual base kits in Canada too in the Ridged line. I do not have this option in the US in my area.

Keep up the good work.

Thank you

Iā€™m also in the same boat (Melbourne based) and struggling to find a router that will suit the Z-Axis kit - closest Iā€™ve found thatā€™s readily available within AU is the Makita RT0700CX2 plunge base router. Based on previous conversations this also wonā€™t work straight out the box however, if we can find a method to lock the stopper pole to the stopper block we are in business!

Makita RT0700CX2

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Rumbles great to hear from you.
Do you have a link to the user manual by any chance as have not come across this one yet.
Happy to have a look at this.

Kind Regards Stuart

Sure do!

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